Ohio Appellate Court Ruling Highlights Interplay Between Oil and Gas Leases and Ohio's Unitization Statute

On June 19, 2019, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Seventh Appellate District issued a ruling that addressed important unanswered questions involving the interplay between an existing oil and gas lease whose unitization clause was deleted and Ohio's unitization statute found at R.C. Chapter 1509. A producer's ability to "force unitize" acreage that is covered by an existing oil and gas lease that does not authorize unitization has been subject of debate in recent years.